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Car-Free at Bike Expo New York

by Ken McLeod

This past weekend I had the opportunity to represent the League of American Bicyclists at Bike Expo New York in support the Five Boro Bike Tour. The Five Boro Bike Tour is an incredible event where roughly 32,000 bicyclists get to experience all five boroughs of New York City without cars. It is the major event for Bike New York – home to Rich Conroy, this year’s Gail and Jim Spann Educator of the Year, and Ken Podziba, Vice-Chair of the League’s Board of Directors.

It was great to meet hundreds of people over two days who were excited to ride through New York City in streets free of motor vehicles. In honor of the car-free nature of the event the entirety of my over 225-mile journey from the League’s office in Washington, DC to the Expo in Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York was made by bike and train.

This quick photo journal shows how I made the trip to NYC and back car-free:

At the League office – loaded up with everything needed for our booth at Bike Expo New York

On Amtrak. Many routes now allow you to take bikes on board without using a bike box. For this train, the Vermonter, there were eight bike spots available with one bike that could be hung up per train car.

Arriving at Bike Expo New York after the 8.5-mile journey from Penn Station. Pro-tip: Use the Manhattan Bridge to avoid crowds.

The League booth – all set up and ready to go for Bike Expo New York! We had about ten volunteers come out and help support the booth. Thank you to Karin Weisburgh (a League Board member), Lois Joyce, Claire Modas, Lee Uehara, Stephen Greenberg, Stave Dedalto, Boris Leonardini, and Brent Knudson who volunteered their time to help at the booth!

Glamour shot after dropping off the booth and leaving the trailer. Thank you to Bike New York and everyone who took part in the Five Boro Bike Tour!

Unfortunately, I didn’t get pictures of my trip back — with a much lighter trailer. I had a great time talking to people about the League of American Bicyclists and we got some great support from our volunteers and visitors to the Expo!